Hunt for paedophile that was already in custody

A convicted paedophile at the centre of a police appeal to trace him had already been arrested, it has emerged today. Anthony Curran, from Wythenshawe, went on the run two months ago after being found guilty of abusing three young boys.

Anthony Curran, from Wythenshawe, went on the run two months ago after being found guilty of abusing three young boys.

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A convicted paedophile at the centre of a police appeal to trace him had already been arrested, it has emerged today.

Anthony Curran, from Wythenshawe, went on the run two months ago after being found guilty of abusing three young boys.

The 55-year-old had been convicted of 11 counts of indecency with a child after a trial in April. He was released on bail ahead of a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court on June 4 but then went missing.

Greater Manchester Police arranged for one of his victims to speak out yesterday in a bid to help detectives trace Curran, describing his abuser as a "risk to anyone".

But today it emerged that Curran had been in custody in North Yorkshire since Tuesday night.

In a brief statement, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said they were no longer looking for the sex offender.

"A 55-year-old man was arrested in North Yorkshire shortly after 11pm on Tuesday 3 August 2010," said a spokesman.

No further details of the arrest have been released.

The abuse took place between 1999 and 2003.

One of the boys spoke out anonymously in a bid to help GMP trace him, saying he believed Curran should be "taken off the streets".

The boy said knowing Curran was on-the-run had left him "worried and anxious".

"I know that he knew where I lived, so I didn't know what was going through his mind or what could be happening," he said.

Both the victim and his father had attacked the judge's decision to grant bail.

The father added: "I just think the justice system is wrong. If someone is convicted of something like this, they should go to prison straight away."

Curran carried out his attacks at his home in Wythenshawe and on day trips to Cheshire, Wales and the Lake District.

Chief Superintendent Rob Potts, Divisional Commander for South Manchester, said: "We are extremely unhappy that this has happened and we are looking into what went wrong.

"It appears at this stage that this error has been the result of a breakdown in communication between the people who arrested Curran and the officers who instigated the appeal.

"We have apologised to the victim and his family for any unnecessary distress this caused."